Moments Comprised
by Simply Mim
Summary: A selection of moments from James and Lily's relationship. Not necessarily connected.
1. Sin

_Sin_

All she wanted was some quiet. Really. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently it was.

The Gryffindor common room was anything but quiet that night. Everyone was shouting about exactly what they thought would happen at the match tomorrow and what would really happen, but wouldn't it be so funny if this happened?

Lily really hated pre-game nights. She didn't mind quidditch. Honestly. It was an entertaining and thoroughly amusing game. But was it really necessary to get so inflamed about it? Of course, the actual reason she was so annoyed tonight was because she had been procrastinating over an essay she _knew_ she shouldn't have for two weeks and really needed to finish it before the weekend. Because she absolutely couldn't bear to do work when the first lovely spring weather of Hogwarts had finally arrived. She just couldn't.

She wanted to scream in frustration.

"Oi, Evans! Who do you reckon'll win tomorrow?" a voice shouted at her.

Lily looked up from her paper, completely exasperated, into the eyes of one very bouncy Sirius Black.

"Yeah! Whaddaya think?" James Potter asked, sidling up next to Lily's armchair.

She sighed. This had been bound to happen eventually. It was silly of her to think she'd be left alone. Even though she and Potter were not close friends in any sense, he always liked to talk to her. For the past four years of her life, she had had to deal with his overwhelming presence. And even though she had dealt with him as calmly as she could, she really was not in the mood right now.

Which was why she ground out the words, "I don't think anything. I don't _care_."

The shock and horror on their faces almost made her laugh.

"But—but," Black flustered.

"You don't care?" Potter exclaimed, thunderstruck. "That's a _sin_! You can't not care about _quidditch_!"

"And yet I don't. Funny isn't it?" Lily remarked, hoping to offend him into leaving.

Potter moved his lips soundlessly for a few moments before a knowing smile spread across his face. "Okay," he said. "I get it."

"Get what?" Lily asked warily.

"You're just trying to trick me," he said with an air of someone who realized he was being duped. "You really do care about quidditch."

Lily stared at him, not quite sure if he was mad or not. He gazed back at her with that stupid, silly grin stretched across his face. "I really don't," she said slowly.

"Oh, but you do," he said with an assured nod. "Don't worry about it Evans." He patted her shoulder.

He was most assuredly mad.

"I'm going to bed," Lily said, rolling her eyes.

"Okay you little joker."

Lily managed to glare at him until he couldn't see her face before relenting to the smile tugging at her lips. And as she settled into bed, Lily realized that she had forgotten all about her previous aggravation.

Weird.

* * *

_For HPFC Boot Camp Challenge. Hope you enjoyed!_


	2. Whisper

_Whisper_

James pressed one hand against his bag's flap as he tucked in his shirt with the other. His tie was hanging crookedly, his glasses were askew and he was _late_.

"Oi! Slow down will you?" Sirius called from behind him.

But James ignored him, knowing that Sirius was in a similar situation of trying to make himself look presentable and run at the same time.

Of course Sirius just _had _to go down to the kitchens to see if they would make him banana custard. Obviously the usual delicious array of breakfast provided by the house-elves wasn't enough for him. And it was only _natural_ for Sirius to stare James down with his patented puppy dog eyes until James agreed to accompany him.

He knew he shouldn't have listened to him. He _knew _it.

James managed to skid into class with a few seconds to spare. He flashed McGonagall a sheepish smile as he hurried over to an empty seat. In the front. Ugh.

Sirius burst in just as the bell rang and he too threw a wide smile McGonagall's way. James watched as Sirius was forced to sit on the opposite side of the classroom. But he was also in the front. Ha.

McGonagall raised her eyes heavenward, but made no other comment. James fought back a grin.

"I hope you read last night's assignment. As I have said over and over again your sixth year is vital for your N.E.W.T.S," McGonagall began, frowning at James and Sirius.

James fell back against his chair and ran a hand through his hair. As much as he wanted to sit for a minute and let his heart rate go down, he knew he should start copying down McGonagall's words. He sighed and leaned towards his bag, rummaging through it for some parchment and quills.

He pulled out a quill and continued to search for some parchment. Minutes passed. James began stressing. Where did all the bloody parchment go?

"Hey," someone next to him whispered.

James turned his head and looked into the bright green eyes of Lily Evans.

"Hi," he whispered cautiously.

"What are you looking for?" she asked.

James struggled with an answer for a moment. Lily had not spoken a word to him since that incident last year.

"Parchment," he replied quietly.

She pursed her lips and turned away. James stared at her, completely confused. At least until she turned back towards him with a fresh piece of parchment in hand.

"Here you go."

James raised his eyebrows as he took it. "Thanks," he murmured.

Lily gave him a tiny smile before resuming her note-taking.

James looked down at the parchment in his hands, brows furrowed, before shaking his head with a smile.

And perhaps that smile lasted throughout the rest of the day, but whatever.

He was happy.


	3. Calm

_Calm_

James all but fell onto the bench and promptly banged his head on the table.

"All right there Prongs?" Remus asked amusedly. "What's it today Peter?"

"Six minutes," Peter reported cheerily.

"Eh, he's done better. Remember last week? Four and a half, wasn't it?" Sirius asked.

James could practically feel their smirks directed at him. "Shut up," he groaned. "It's not my fault I have shit roommates who don't wake me up."

"Hey, don't blame this on us," Peter protested. "It's not our fault you kick when you're tired."

"And bite."

"And curse."

"_Shut up_," James moaned. He slowly raised his head to glare at his supposed mates, but he couldn't open his eyes wide enough to see where they were. He felt like shit.

"I feel like shit," he mumbled out loud because thinking in his head was actually more difficult than speaking.

"Here James," Remus said in a slightly more sympathetic tone.

James felt the warmth of a mug bump his arm. He attempted to smile in thanks but the idea of anything making him feel better consumed his energy. He was in the process of gathering enough energy to raise the mug when he heard a familiar voice screech, "Stop!"

James froze. He sensed Remus, Sirius and Peter do the same.

Peter recovered first. "What?" he asked warily.

"Don't let Potter drink that," Lily replied from beside James.

James entered a new level of shock. He had been sitting besides _Lily_ this whole time and he hadn't even noticed! He really was dead on his feet.

"Why not?" Remus asked suspiciously.

"That's _coffee_," she said slowly.

James gasped.

Peter dropped his spoon with a clatter.

"Oh Merlin," Sirius breathed. "Do you realize what you could have done?" He demanded of Remus.

"I wasn't thinking," Remus stammered.

"Hang on," Peter said slowly. "How do you know about that Lily?"

James whipped his neck around to look at the girl. How _did_ she know?

Lily's eyes flickered over at him, but she addressed Peter. "Unfortunately, I have a strange predilection towards remembering random facts. Have you forgotten James' plan last year to spout every possible piece of information about himself at me? I do believe he mentioned his hatred of coffee twice a day," she informed him drily.

James pursed his lips as he stared at Lily. He _had _told her a lot about himself in the middle of fifth year. Lily had given the idea to him when she had rejected him on the basis that they knew nothing about each other.

"Yeah, but wouldn't you want him to drink coffee?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"Why would I want to hear James throw a temper tantrum? It's much too early for that rubbish."

"Still. Rather impressive of you to actually use information about James, Lily," Peter said somewhat smugly.

Remus began smirking as well. "Peter's got a point Lil. People who allegedly hate certain people don't usually use knowledge like that."

"Yeah," Sirius said with a grin.

James wanted to chime in as well but he was feeling very dazed all of a sudden.

"I never said I hated Potter," Lily said calmly. She didn't look at James.

And with this profound statement she got up.

"See you in class boys," she said with a grin.

James blankly watched her stroll out the Great Hall with her friends. After she was gone he turned back to his friends. They were all watching him with huge smiles on their faces.

"Lovely day isn't it?" James asked, helping himself to a bagel.


	4. Practical

**This was originally supposed to be much shorter...and simpler... I really don't know how I feel about the turnout. **

**For the prompt **practical.

**P.S. these one-shots are not meant to be connected, I'm not sure if that's clear or not **

**Enjoy!**

**~Lady Thorne**

* * *

**Treacle Tart  
**

"Pass the treacle tart will you Evans?" asked the person sitting beside Lily Evans.

Lily, knowing full well who had just addressed her, slowly turned towards one James Potter and took in his stuffed mouth, the grease around his lips and the speared steak in his right hand.

"How many times must I explain to you how _revolting_ it is when you talk with your mouth full? I don't want any of your half-chewed food to land on me."

Potter swallowed enormously and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. The tart?"

Lily shook her head, but pushed the tray towards him anyway. "Here. I don't know how you eat that stuff, but whatever."

She turned back towards her own delicious pudding.

"Hang on," Potter interjected abruptly.

"What?" Lily asked exasperatedly.

"Did you just say you _don't_ like treacle tart?"

"Ye-es," Lily acquiesced.

Her words caused Potter to, essentially, explode.

"What!" he exclaimed. "How is that possible! Treacle tart is the greatest food in the entire universe!"

"_That_ is an opinion," Lily said primly. "And a rather shoddy one at that."

"Shoddy?" Potter repeated faintly. "Remus. Remus! Remus, please tell Miss Evans here treacle tart is food from the gods!"

Remus grinned from behind his porridge. "Mind, I can only base this off of fifteen years of being alive, but yeah I would say treacle tart is a gift to mankind."

"Well I'll have you know that I have _sixteen _years worth of knowledge at my disposal, and I don't like treacle tart," Lily declared.

"Oh, what a surprise. Another reference to her age," Mary snorted from her other side.

Lily swatted her arm. "I do not make a lot of references to it!"

"Yes you do," Remus, Potter and basically everyone in their vicinity chorused.

Lily pouted. "Sorry I'm excited about my birthday," she grumbled.

"Have you ever even tried treacle tart?" Potter asked suspiciously.

"Yes!" Lily huffed. "Once. When I was ten."

"Once when you were—ugh. How can that count?" Potter cried out.

"It does okay, now leave me alone!" Lily pointedly turned away from Potter. However, she still had some glaring to do. So she settled on glaring at Mary's amused expression.

"Don't worry Lily, I'll get you to like treacle tart," James said slyly from behind her.

Lily narrowed her eyes, but she didn't turn around. "No you won't."

"Yes I will."

"_No_ you _won't_."

Mary was beginning to develop a very smug smile, and it was starting to severely tick Lily off.

"Lily let's look at this practically. I am a man of strong persistence, as we both know. I can assure you, I will get you to like treacle tart before we graduate!" James proclaimed.

Feeling a pit of horror setting deep within her stomach, Lily shot out of her seat at the dining table.

"I doubt it," she said scathingly. Because even though she did know just how persistent the little bugger was, Lily continued to harbor the belief that an air of pessimism _must_ bring down his conviction one day. And with her own declaration, Lily stormed out of the Great Hall, deaf to Mary's cries to wait up.

James Potter would not convince her of anything. Ever.

::::::

And he couldn't. Not really. Not for the rest of the term anyway.

Lily already thought he was an arrogant, toerag of a person. His new habit of shoving a slice of treacle tart in her face as he behaved as an arrogant toerag of a person only served to exacerbate her anger. It also led to many an incident in which Potter left with tart smeared all over his face. She was particularly proud of that.

And where did he get all that treacle tart from anyway?

::::::

The incident by the lake happened, as Lily's friends had taken to calling it.

She knew they didn't want to upset her by mentioning Severus's name. But she also that they were relieved that she was no longer friends with him. Mary, Alice and Marlene had never really liked him, for good reason Lily realized sadly, and so they were quite pleased by Lily staying away from him.

The three of them rallied by Lily to keep her happy, but the thing was they didn't _get it_. It didn't occur to her friends that she was incredibly torn up about the whole thing. Of course Lily knew she had made the right decision, but that didn't make it easy. She had been best friends with this boy for eight whole years. But Lily couldn't quite put her feelings into words, and she knew her friends wouldn't understand anyway.

This was why, five days after the incident, the Gryffindor common room was occupied by Lily Evans at one o'clock in the morning.

She was blankly staring at the embers in the fireplace, trying to sort out her thoughts. Not that she was succeeding. She was tired, but she couldn't sleep. It was awful. As she mulling over this vicious cycle, Lily heard the dull clunk of someone putting an object on the wooden table beside her.

The person shuffled around behind her, before they cleared their throat.

"Ahem, um, hey Lily," an annoying familiar voice mumbled from behind her.

James Potter. What was he doing? How did he always know where she was?

But Lily was much too tired and melancholy to voice these thoughts aloud. Instead she continued to determinedly stare blankly at the fire place.

"Listen, I know you've been avoiding me lately, and I get that you're upset with me and stuff. But I just need to say something," Potter paused as if expecting a retort from Lily, but she said nothing. "Alright. Well. I just…I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. For everything. I was acting like a total arse that day by the lake, and well, I guess what happened happened partly because of me. If I hadn't provoked Sn-ah, _him_, then he probably wouldn't have said _that_. And even though I'm really glad you've ended things with that git—not that it's any of my business who you choose to be mates with—I know you're probably feeling awful about it. Since you've been friends with him for so long and all. And I know that when friends of yours do stupid, horrible things, you're torn between your friendship and their actions. And sometimes you can't deal with their actions any more, and you have to call of the friendship. It's not easy. Because when you're friends with someone you really care for, you can't bear to be away from them, but sometimes…sometimes it's for the best. So. Erm. I'm sorry that you had to choose to call of the friendship. It can't be easy. Yeah. And uh, I thought this might make you feel better since it helps me."

Lily heard Potter tap the table.

"Bye Lily," Potter mumbled. She heard him race up the boys dormitories as if she was going to chase him or something.

Lily had no such intentions. She was rooted to the spot, completely frozen by what was apparently a very heart-wrenching, remorseful speech by James Potter. Never in all their years of schooling had James Potter ever apologized to Lily before. Not once.

When Lily was finally able to regain her motor functions she whipped around her chair to make sure Potter wasn't still standing there and this was all some weird prank or something. But he was gone. She looked at the table and saw a piece of treacle tart topped with a cherry sitting innocently on the table.

And for some reason, seeing that awful dessert Potter had been shoving in her face for the past four months emitted a laugh from Lily. A real, genuine laugh from deep within her. Because even though James apparently had this ridiculously sensitive side, he was still a persistent little bugger, and Lily needed this reminder of reality. She appreciated it. And even though she didn't eat it, she did write _thanks but you can have it_ on a scrap of paper and set it on the tart before casting a charm on it to keep it from spoiling.

Because, well, there's no need to let a perfectly good dessert go to waste. It can't be that bad.

::::::

When Lily walked into Transfiguration on a bright sunny morning, she saw ESSAY DUE written in large letters on the board. For a brief second, Lily panicked. Did she put her essay in her bag this morning? A quick check revealed that she did in fact shove the essay in this morning on her way to class.

"Good morning class," Professor McGonagall greeted as she swept into classroom "I trust you've all written your essays on Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration? You can turn in your essay on that basket on my desk."

There was a flurry of movement as the forty Gryffindor and Ravenclaw sixth year students hurried to drop off their essays.

"Shame about that first exception eh?" James Potter said in Lily's ear.

Lily jumped about a foot in the air.

"James Potter!" She yelped. "What is it with you trying to kill me?"

James gasped. "I would never dream of committing such an atrocious act! The idea of a world without Lily flower! The horror! The dreadfulness! The—"

"What do you want?" Lily cut in, struggling to contain her grin.

James grinned saucily, easily noting her poorly concealed amusement. "I just wanted to let you know that if there wasn't an exception to transfiguring food out of thin air, I would make a treacle tart for you whenever you wanted."

"Treacle tart again?" Lily groaned. "When will you drop this convincing me rubbish?"

"Never," James said solemnly. And in his eyes was a promise.

Lily just smiled and shook her head at him.

::::::

He did not drop it all through sixth year.

He didn't bring it up constantly of course; nothing like his aggravating pestering of fifth year. It was more sporadic. Every now and then, James would pop up with a plate of treacle tart and a cheesy grin on his face. Or at dinner if Lily would ask him to pass her something, he would always be sure to pass along a slice of treacle tart with it. He once whipped out a piece during a Herbology lesson, causing the extremely sensitive Tuttingthorns to react violently against its smell.

The end result of that was twenty points lost from Gryffindor and a rather smug Lily. She said _I told you so_ at least twice. James scowled.

But no matter how much James pleaded, cajoled or begged Lily to just try the damn thing, she refused. It was the principle of the thing really.

Lily Evans was not a woman who was easily swayed.

::::::

"This might be me just overanalyzing things," Marlene began while she and Lily were studying in the Library one day.

"It probably is," Lily assured her with a grin.

Marlene rolled her eyes. "I was _saying _that I think you're too scared to try the treacle tart."

Lily looked at her friend in befuddlement. "What? How can I be scared about eating dessert?"

"I think you're taking the treacle tart as a metaphor for your relationship with James. You've already warmed up to him. But if you agree to try the treacle tart, you're actually accepting the fact that you really do like James. Perhaps more than you let on," Marlene explained sagely.

"So what you're trying to tell me is that instead of the very simple reason of me refusing to eat treacle tart because it is disgusting and I don't like it, you think I am refusing James' offer to eat a piece of dessert because I'm unconsciously using it as a metaphor for our relationship?" Lily summarized sarcastically.

Marlene beamed. "Exactly."

Lily huffed in exasperation.

"Lily, I know you. And I see you talk to James. You have a lot of fun with him around, but you're always a little bit distant. As if you don't want to _taste _the feeling of having a legitimate relationship with him. Taste? Get it? Oh, I'm good," Marlene chuckled.

Lily did not deign this with a response.

::::::

Lily got off the train at the end of the term with a nostalgic smile. She was glad summer was finally here, but this would be the last summer before she was done with school forever. It was frightening to imagine.

"Our last summer of childhood," Alice pronounced, voicing Lily's thoughts.

Lily shook her head. "Crazy," she breathed.

"What are you two birds sobbing about?" Marlene demanded in an exuberant voice. "Summer's here!"

"Nothing," Alice laughed. Marlene's excitement was infectious.

Lily grinned as well.

"Hey Lily!" James called, appearing beside her.

"Hey James," Lily greeted cheerily.

James smiled at her in silence before his eyes widened. "Oh! I got you something!"

"What? Why?"

"To celebrate summer silly!" James held out his hand towards her. it was empty.

Lily looked at him warily. "What—"

Suddenly a plate of treacle tart appeared in James hand.

Lily laughed in astonishment. "You just Summoned that didn't you? Oh Merlin, James. When will you stop?"

James grinned bashfully. "Do you want to try some?" he asked hopefully.

"James," Lily sighed, half-amused, half-exasperated. "No matter how hard you try, you can't get me to eat that horrid dessert. Sorry."

Was it just her, or did James look weirdly disappointed?

"Thanks for the offer though," Lily added sincerely, trying to cheer him up without quite knowing why. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

"Enjoy your summer," she said with a grin.

"You too," James murmured, returning the hug.

"See you soon?" Lily asked as she walked back towards her friends.

James winked.

::::::

Lily shook herself awake for the tenth time and groaned.

"How long have we been studying?" She asked James groggily.

James rubbed the back of his neck as he checked his watch. "Ugh. Half past one."

Lily scrunched her eyebrows together. "Wait. What? Half past one? How have we been studying for so long?"

"I dunno," James groaned.

"I hate Transfiguration," Lily growled. She flopped back on her chair and let her head hang over the edge. The heads common room looked so funny upside down.

"It's not that bad," James insisted.

"Oh shut up. Just because you live and breathe the subject doesn't mean it isn't awful," Lily snapped, raising her head to glare at him.

"Alright fine," James acquiesced, raising his hands in surrender. "No need to get touchy. What would you like to do now?"

Lily narrowed her eyes. What she would _like_ to do is jump on top of James and snog him senseless. She had been harboring this particular desire for a few months now and it was beginning to drive her mad.

What she said was, "I dunno, eat something?"

"Great plan!" James cried. He reached across the sofa he was sitting on and pulled up a plate of dessert.

Lily watched James bring a fork and knife from seemingly nowhere and set to work on cutting his food. She did not really pay attention to what it was he was eating because she was suddenly transfixed by his hands. They looked so large and strong. What would it be like if he were to cup her face in his overly large hands and….

Lily jumped to her feet.

"I need sugar," she exclaimed.

With a sudden rush of energy, Lily swooped down and snatched a piece of James's food. She stuffed it into her mouth before James even blinked.

Lily smiled satisfactorily.

"Yeah alright, go ahead and have my food," James said after he realized what happened.

Lily smiled even more smugly. "Thanks." And she nicked a larger piece from his plate.

"This is quite good," Lily informed James when she finished chewing obnoxiously. She _really_ needed a distraction. "What is it?"

James had been gazing up at her with a peculiar expression but at her question a smirk erupted onto his face.

For a whole minute, James did not say anything, he simply sat there and smirked at her. _A whole minute_.

"What?" Lily asked irately.

"That," James said in a ridiculously pleased tone, "is a slice of treacle tart."

Lily froze.

"No," Lily breathed.

"Yes," James declared smugly.

"No, no, no, are you serious?" Lily gaped at James.

James's smirk, impossibly, widened.

"That's it, I'm going to bed. This day has been taxing enough," Lily declared, stomping up the stairs to her bedroom.

She was just about to enter her room when James hollered, "I told you so!"

Lily responded by slamming the door shut.

::::::

Lily trudged over to breakfast that morning only to see all of her friends looking at her eagerly.

She hadn't even had a chance to sit down, when Marlene asked, "Well?"

"Well what?" Lily repeated cautiously, dropping onto the bench.

"How was last night?" Peter asked eagerly.

Lily narrowed her eyes at all of them. Then she leaned around Alice and violently poked James.

"What did you go and tell all of them about it for?" she demanded.

"So she admits it!" Sirius crowed.

"Sorry," James said sheepishly. "I was excited."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Does this mean you've gotten rid of all your doubts about _treacle tart_?" Marlene asked with a suggestive wink.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Lily said primly.

"Oh pish posh," Mary dismissed. "You know exactly what she means and I'm sure you don't want her spelling it out in front of everyone."

Lily squeezed her eyes shut. She should've skipped breakfast. Why hadn't she had the foresight to realize what a pain her friends would've been like?

But apparently, the Marauders already were fully aware of what Marlene was referring to.

"Lily! Can I expect a Sirius Potter?" Sirius demanded.

"What?"

Remus hastily covered Sirius's mouth. "What Sirius means to say is that have you come to accept your feelings for treacle tart."

Lily pursed her lips. All of them—Remus, Sirius, Peter, Alice, Mary, Marlene and even James—were leaning forward in expectation of her answer.

"Yeah it's pretty good," Lily finally admitted with a sigh.

At her friends obnoxious cheering, she rolled her eyes once more. But as she leaned forward to grab some toast she saw James staring at her with a dazed smile on his face.

And she smiled too.

Because, well, treacle tart was actually quite amazing.


	5. Fascinated

_Fascinated_

The problem with James is that he is so magnetic.

Trust me. As somebody who has been a lifelong (or seven years, whatever it's close enough) observer of James Potter's habits, I am quite confident in this assessment.

It's because of his _charm_. And his _good-looks_. And his hypnotizing hazel eyes, his courageous spirit, his genuinely kind personality and really all of the above!

Not that it bothers me. Much.

It's just that…well alright it does bother me! Happy?

Merlin.

But it is not _my fault_ that I don't like how magnetic he is. It's _his_!

_He's_ the one who has those smoldering eyes and crooked grin. _He's _the one who makes_ me_ laugh. It's not the other way around, ya know!

And what am I to him?

Nothing.

Well. Not exactly nothing. I'm exaggerating a bit.

I'm sure he regards me as a friend.

And I'm actually happy with that. Really I am.

And the reason I'm sure of that (because I am, I _swear_) is that he deserves her.

Oh you know who I'm going on about.

_Her_. Lily Evans.

The two of them are so wonderfully suited for each other that if I really can't help but cheer James on his quests to win her heart.

So yes, maybe I'm a tad bit…interested in James Potter. But I do believe I'm even more interested to see how their story plays out.

It'll be fascinating, to say the least.

* * *

_Did you think it was Lily the whole time? Hee hee. I do believe this is a genuine drabble! Huzzah!_

_~Lady Thorne_


	6. Acrid

**Acrid**

Lily is halfway inside the oven when the doorbell rings. She yelps in surprise and bangs her head against the top of the counter in her haste to stand up.

Today is not her day.

Her parents had been kicked out hours ago because "I'm barely ever home, let me be the one who cooks tonight." Or so she had confidently stated. By now she is sincerely regretting her bravado. After two failed attempts at making the chicken, this third bugger is her last chance. Hopefully her mum will help.

Absent-mindedly swiping an errant strand behind her ear, Lily throws open the door with gusto, ready to vent to her mother. Only it's not her parents smiling sheepishly at her because they've forgotten the house keys yet again but a tall, dark-haired boy with an entirely swoon worthy grin.

"James," Lily murmurs, the sight of her boyfriend making her heart leap joyfully. At least until she looks down at her outfit, if you could call it that. She was currently ensconced in a snug, ratty, overly large sweatshirt, pajama bottoms and an apron.

"Oh my god," she blurts, embarrassed. "I look awful! I have to change!"

"It's okay," James chuckles. "It's not like I haven't seen you like this before."

He is referring, of course, to their various midnight trips to the kitchens for a study break. Lily is a firm believer in studying in comfort.

"No it's not!" Lily exclaims hysterically. So maybe she had had four cups of coffee in the course of preparing her disastrous dinner. And maybe she usually goes crazy after only two cups. It's all good.

Not even bothering to direct James to the sitting room, Lily dashes up the stairs to her room. She remerges a good thirty minutes later, only slightly less harried. (She discovered her favorite dress buried at the bottom of her closet with a huge stain on the front and was forced to wear a dress she only kinda liked-and by the time she had pulled it on she only had time to pull her hair into a French braid).

She finds James in the kitchen, looking at all the appliances with typical wizard amazement.

"Sorry," she breathes. "I'm so sorry to take forever." She makes an attempt at a smile as she glances over at the oven. The chicken is suspiciously brown. Heart pounding wildly, Lily grabs the oven mitts and pulls out the tray. Yep. It's burned. The thick, foul-smelling, cough-inducing smoke that pours out behind the chicken is further proof.

"Oh well." James says cheerfully as the two of them absorb the fact that dinner has been ruined. Well, he realized it.

For Lily, it is James's words that shake her out of blinking stupidly at the chicken and acknowledge that she has single-handedly ruined her family's dinner for the third time. James, the poor dear, doesn't know this. James also doesn't know how terrible of a day Lily has been having.

If she wasn't about to cry from her botched attempt at cooking, Lily looks up and sees that James is smiling ruefully at her with a lovely bouquet in his hands. Marigolds. Her favorite. Here was this lovely boy who had come all the way over to her place to have a nice dinner with her and her parents and she had gone and _ruined it_.

"I'm awful," she cries and sinks to the floor with her face buried in her hands. She wasn't crying though. Not yet, anyway. But she did feel like a miserable waste of a person.

"Hey," James says gently, sitting down beside her. He rubs slow circles on her back. "It's okay, love. It's just dinner. I'm sure we could go out somewhere."

And now he is being kind and understanding and actually accepting of the fact that she is borderline hysterical? Lily cannot handle this. She bursts into tears.

"I'm such a wreck!" she cries. "I'm sorry I wanted dinner to be perfect! You were going to meet my parents and everything would be lovely and we could have a wonderful time and I've gone and botched it up like the mess I am and now we don't have anything to eat!"

It is not an unlikely assumption that Lily is being visited by that Time of the Month. But hey, it really is not her day. Given this fact, it is understandable that Lily ignores James previously logical solution to their problem and continues to sob. The fact that James is there to witness her breaking down only worsens the situation.

"Lily," James says firmly, grabbing her shoulders. Lily looks up at him and bites her lip. He is gazing down at her with an uncharacteristically serious expression. "You are absolutely wonderful and don't you dare every convince yourself of something different. And if you think not being able to make _chicken_ is going to convince me—"

"Third."

"Sorry?" James asks, befuddled.

"That was the third chicken I ruined," Lily sniffs.

James suddenly breaks out into a huge grin. "I see now. This is your perfectionist problem coming out."

Lily narrows her eyes at James. "I am not a perfectionist!"

"Sure. I bet the first two chickens weren't even that bad, but you _had _to make the perfect dinner," James explains knowingly.

"I did not! Just because I wanted a nice meal does not mean that—look I just didn't want to ruin your first dinner with my parents okay?"

"So you admit it!" James laughs.

Lily scowls at him.

James ignores this and gathers her into a hug. "I missed you," he mumbles against her hair.

She can't help but smile softly. "Missed you too."

If Lily's parents are surprised to find their daughter and her boyfriend sitting on the floor of the kitchen when they get home, they don't show it. They agree to going out to eat and the four of them have a lovely time. At least until her parents agree with James on her perfectionist problem.

"I am not a perfectionist!"

* * *

_So I've decided to try different writing styles on these prompts. How did this one come out? _


	7. Agitated

_Agitated_

James slid into his seat in Charms with a large grin on his face. He couldn't help himself. It was just too perfect.

One row ahead and three seats across, Lily was already seated and arranging her things in order. (He couldn't help but notice her either. His eyes just automatically flicked towards her these days).

Sirius, Remus and Peter entered the classroom a few moments later. All three glanced at James's hair then his beaming visage and scowled fiercely. Ah. Sweet, sweet satisfaction.

"Good morning class!" Professor Flitwick squeaked from behind his desk. "I'll just be talking roll now."

As he went down his list, more and more people began to notice James. Most kids were snickering under their breath, and a few were leaning forward, eagerly awaiting Professor Flitwick's expression when he noticed.

James felt Lily's eyes on him, which only broadened his grin. But he didn't look her way. He too was awaiting the professor's reaction.

"James Potter?"

"Here!" James called loudly, proudly even.

"Where—oh!" Professor Flitwick was so surprised he nearly toppled off his stack of books that allowed him to see over his desk. "Erm, ahem. Yes. There you are indeed Mr. Potter. With new hair. Alright."

And that was the end of that. James supposed Professor Flitwick had seen such strange behavior over the years that he didn't question much anymore. (A pity, really). James's classmates followed their Professor's lead on not commenting on his hair, and the rest of class passed smoothly.

James swaggered down the hall when class let out, feeling ridiculously pleased with himself. Somebody fell into step beside him.

"Hullo Potter," Lily said casually. As if she walked beside him every day.

But today was no ordinary day. And James was loving every second of it.

"Evans," he said with an easy grin. "What can I do for you?"

"Your hair. It's blue."

"That it is," James affirmed cheerfully. "Excellent observation."

Lily looked at him carefully, evidently waiting for some sort of explanation. When James did not give her one, she looked down and silently continued on beside him.

James could sense her growing tense. She began playing with the ends of her hair, rubbing her hands together and shooting him glances every minute or so. It was highly amusing.

Eventually, she caved. "Mind telling me why?" she blurted.

"Sirius pranked me. He figured he would ruin my favorite feature. Unfortunately, he often forgets that _he's_ the one obsessed with his hair, not me," James explained, tucking his hands in his pockets to add to his nonchalance.

Lily stared at him for the longest time as she pondered over his words.

And then, suddenly, randomly, (madly) she began to laugh.

She laughed so hard that she had to stop moving and put a hand on James's shoulder to support herself. By the end of it, there were tears streaming down her face.

"Oh dear. Oh Merlin. That's good. I like that," she wheezed in between her laughter.

James smiled along with her, but he wasn't quite sure why she was laughing so hard. It wasn't even that funny.

Eventually, Lily managed to calm down enough to pat him on the shoulder and say, "Well thanks for explaining James. See you later."

He wasn't exactly sure what just happened, but he figured it was a good thing.

Of course, eventually James did figure out what happened.

Sirius was evil. (As was Lily. And the rest of Hogwarts for that matter).

He didn't realize his hair had been turned invisible until nearly five hours later.


	8. Breathless

Breathless

He urges his broom faster, higher. Opens his arms wide and allows the wind to crash against his body. Revels in the prickly pain the buffets produce. Gasps as the speed takes his breath away, leaving his body desperately gasping for air for one moment. Two.

He can't think up here. His broom is mercifully faster than his thoughts.

All of his stupid, conflicted emotions are still swirling down below, down with the rest of his problems.

He doesn't worry about them.

There's no need.

It's just him, his broomstick and the enveloping night sky.

No stress. No feelings of inadequacy. No hopeless longing. No confused revaluations of his lifestyle.

Nope.

None of that.

Just the wind. And the sky. And his trusty broomstick.

* * *

_This was my somewhat pathetic attempt at angst. I apologize if it sucks. _


	9. Violated

**Violated**

"I'm completely serious," James protested in a loud voice.

Lily cannot stop the laughter that weaseled out of her. "No you're not."

"Yes I am!" he insisted. "I had a pet rock for a year to convince my mum I was responsible enough for a cat!"

Lily clutched her stomach in a vain attempt to control her laughter. But she can't. The idea of a ten year old James caring for an inanimate object is too much.

"How…does that...even make sense?" she choked out.

"Does it matter? It got me a pet cat!" James said haughtily.

"Oh James, you are too much," she wheezed.

"Although," James began, looking around furtively before draping an arm around Lily's shoulders and pulling her close, "I kind of prefer Deborah."

"Deborah?" Lily asked, feeling another bout of laughter bubbling up.

"My rock," James said solemnly, though his mouth was twitching and his eyes sparkling with humor.

Lily buried her face in her hands. She shouldn't be laughing this hard right now. The two of them were patrolling for Merlin's sake.

A sudden gasp made Lily remove her hands from her face.

Standing in front of them was a young girl, around thirteen or so, with an expression of delighted incredulity.

"Are you Head Boy?" she asked, looking at James.

"Yes," James said carefully, withdrawing his arm from Lily's shoulders.

"And you're Head Girl?" she asked, swiveling her gaze onto Lily.

"Yes?" Lily answered, feeling unsettled.

"And you two are walking down this corridor alone with each other," the girl started in a hushed tone. "OH MY GOD!" she screamed abruptly.

Lily and James both jumped.

"What? What happened?" James demanded, his hand going for his wand automatically.

"Are you two on a date?" the girl asked. She clasped her hands in front of her face and began bouncing up and down.

"What?" Lily asked, too surprised to answer.

"You are aren't you!" the girl squealed. "Yes! I knew it! I can't wait to tell Molly and Harper and—"

"Hold on," James interrupted. "Lily and I aren't dating."

The girl's shoulders sagged. "You're not?"

"Nope," James said, popping the p sound.

"Oh." The girl kicked the ground with her shoe. "But don't you want to date?" she asked, her head snapping back up.

"Um," James said, his cheeks heating up.

Lily looked at him in surprise and felt herself blush in response.

"I KNEW IT!" the little girl shouted. "Don't worry, we believe in you two! Your fan club will live on! James and Lily forever!" she cried as she ran down the corridor.

When she disappeared from view, Lily and James could only stare at each other.

"I feel violated somehow," Lily mumbled finally.

James nodded. "So long as our friends don't find out about this."

"That would be horrible," she agreed with shudder.


	10. Into the Fire

**Into the Fire**

James crouched low as he snuck into the room. All was quiet. Everything was still. There didn't seem to be anyone there. Not anyone at all.

His suspicions raised, he reached a hand behind him and beckoned Sirius and Lily forward. He felt rather than heard their approach. The two split, Sirius taking the left and Lily the right.

Each crept forward, wands raised.

James breathed in.

Breathed out.

All was silent.

Breathed in.

Breathed out.

And then—

Screams. The pounding of many feet. Death Eaters filed into the room, curses and hexes flying everywhere.

Sirius shouted something, James couldn't make out what.

He thought he heard Bellatrix laugh in response.

His mind went into automatic. Spell after spell. Target after target. Training taking over, as he quickly calculated how many Death Eaters were present, where they came from, where different exits were.

He saw a jet of light speed to his right out of the corner of his eye. Kept moving forward.

Lily suddenly screamed.

To his right.

To his _right_

What color was the spell?

WHAT COLOR WAS THE SPELL?

He couldn't think. He knew not to look. Didn't have time to look. Couldn't afford to look. But he looked.

A figure lay on the ground, a splash of red covering its face.

Lily.

No.

NO.

_No_.

A curse missed him by mere millimeters. It shook him out of his trance.

Suddenly a whirlwind, James shouted and ran forward, shooting spell after spell. Hitting target after target.

And then—

Silence.

The battle was over.

Sirius urging him to move his arse.

Without knowing how he found her, James was kneeling by her side. Turning her over, murmuring under his breath.

Please, please, please, please, _please_.

Lily's eyes were closed, her face calm, and her chest heaved.

She was alive.

"Lily."

* * *

_So this was an attempt at dark. Did it work?_


	11. Indifference

_Indifference_

"Here," a light voice said, jerking James attention away from his essay.

Lily stood in front of him with a book thrust in his face.

"What's this?" he asked, leaning backwards.

"A book," she replied innocently.

"I can see that, thanks," James said sarcastically. He took it. It was a brand new edition of _The Wizard and His Hat_. His very favorite book in the whole world.

He looked up at Lily, completely bewildered.

"Why—?"

Lily shifted nervously where she stood. She twisted her fingers into her red locks.

James didn't understand what was going on.

"Lily?"

"YousaidInevernoticed," she burst out in a rush.

"What?"

She took a deep breath. "You said that I never notice anything. About you. The other day." She let the _when we fought_ hang silently in the air between them. She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Anyway, I do. Notice. And I noticed that your current edition of _The Wizard and His Hat_ was getting really torn up, so I thought you'd appreciate a new one."

James looked down at the book and then up at Lily. "Lily, erm, I don't know what to say."

"Open it," she said, twisting her fingers even more tightly into her hair.

He opened the front cover. There, on the first page-

_Thank you for being a loyal reader._

_I hope this book gives you even more hours of joy._

_Dominic Turner_

"It's signed," he breathed.

He looked up at Lily. She was beaming.

"Thank you," he said with all the sincerity he could muster.

Lily smiled once more, softer this time.

"You're welcome," she said.


	12. Carcass

**Carcass**

"That is not a cake. That is…that's…I don't know! But it's certainly not a cake!" I explain as patiently as I can.

James pouts. "But I worked so hard on it!"

I can't hold back my sigh. "Look, it's got a wonderful…framework…but it's certainly no masterpiece."

James raises his eyebrows. "Well I'm sorry _Mr. Perfect_, but at least I made a cake!"

"Are you implying that I didn't get Lily anything?" I scoff. I'm just about to explain my brilliant gift when Lily strides into the kitchen with a house-elf attached to her leg.

"I tried to stop her sir, but she wouldn't listen!" he squeaks.

"What's this then?" Lily demands. "What's going on?"

Before I can say anything, her eyes land on the _carcass_ of a cake that James created.

"James," she breathes, "did you make that cake for me?"

"Yeah," he mumbles, suddenly shy. "Happy seventeenth."

I have to fight a grin at his expression.

"I love it!" Lily exclaims.

"Really?" he asks.

"_Really_?" I repeat incredulously.

"Of course!" she cries, throwing herself into his arms.

This time I let the smile spread. How could I forget? It doesn't matter what abomination James creates. He made it for _her_.

James and Lily.

Who knew?


	13. Drawn

_Drawn_

Lily propped her head up with one hand as she aimlessly doodled on the side of her notes. She couldn't even begin to think today. It felt as if she was trying to focus on something far away, but she would never be able to see it clearly. Fuzzy.

Her hand traced a shape out all on its own. Long and thin. Rounded at the bottom, indented at the top. Firm, she imagined it to be. But soft.

How would it feel to press her own lips against his? Her heart stuttered at the idea.

Lily's eyes flew open. She glanced down at her paper.

Lips.

She knew exactly whose she had drawn.

Bugger.


End file.
